Actually, having been homeschooled myself (
), I know a little about the subject...okay, okay, I'm obsessed with it.
And the laws about homeschooling are different in every single state. (I know, I've looked.
After all, I have no idea where I'll be living when I homeschool
my kids...who don't exist yet. :p ) Some states require test scores, lesson plans, 'report cards' and all sorts of stuff. Other states just want you to tell them, "I'm homeschooling." They say, "Okay." End of story. Other states don't even care that much!
The entire time I was homeschooled (in four different states -- Illinois (Chicago), Michigan, Ohio, and Texas -- plus I have a ton of friends in MI who stayed homeschooled even through high school) NOBODY ever checked up on us. When we moved to Texas, my mom contacted the school system to see if there was anything that she needed to do officially, and they told her, "Don't tell us. We don't want to know." Then again, Texas
is known for it's poor school systems. Don't know if they've improved in the eleven years since we moved there...or maybe I should say the seven since we moved away.
We did take the Iowa Basic Skills test every other year (not even every year!) to prove (mostly to my mom) that we were making progress, and when we started public school for high school, they only cared about the most recent one.
One of my friends' mom keeps meticulous records to be sure that she has 'proof' that she did a complete job if she's ever called before a judge -- it won't happen, though.
So (especially if you're writing L&C and can make up any laws you want for New Troy
), I'd say you could have them get away with it for years. Or not. Depending on what you want. The only problem I could see, unless you made the law such that there were official check ups, would not be with any officials from the school system, but neighbors. If your child has played with them and then suddenly disappears, they might notice and/or worry. If they notice signs of abuse, they might call child services. Then again, they might just butt out. So, again, you can have it go whichever way you want for your story.
I could go on about homeschooling forever
, but I'll stop now.
If you've made it this far, I hope I helped. If there's anything else you want to know, feel free.
Bethy